The streets of Midgar can be a dark and scary place. The permanent darkness gave the city a doomed feel, as if one day all of it would go to hell in a hand basket. Nevertheless, thousands of families settled there- or, rather, were forced into the poverty of the slums. And yet nobody hears of the wealthy heirs that lived on the upper plate. One such family was that of the Burch faction. Alexander Burch and his young wife Lucinda had both lived in the upper crust of Midgar their entire lives. After bearing two girls, Lucinda and Alexander divorced and she left the children's father to care for them.
    The youngest of the two was Elena. She was three and a half years younger than her older sister, Penelope, or Penny for short. When Elena was young, the adults said that they could tell she was going to continue the trend of wealth in the family; perhaps be a lawyer or doctor or businesswoman. But Elena just wanted to be happy.
    Childhood was advanced for the two girls. They went to an affluent private institution, and had all of the advantages needed to be raised "properly".
Elena didn't gain her sense of independence until she was 17. It came about so suddenly that it surprised the people around her.
    "Penny," she mumbled on one particular day, "what do you think of moving off of the plate?"
    Penny laughed and curled a lock of her sister's hair around her own finger. "Why would you wanna do that? It's all slums and dirty business. Only people who are desperate for a start go there."
    "But think of all the excitement down there," Elena argued. "It's so colorful. And think of all the things down there that we don't have here-"
    "What, filth?"
    "At least it's not as stuffy!" she burst. Penny looked surprised. Her normally quiet sister was being unusually boisterous lately.
    "Sorry," Elena muttered meekly.
    "Listen, Nell," Penny addressed, using the nickname she had so fondly created. "One day you and I will move out of here and do something exciting. I want to work for Shin'ra, and I want you to come with me."
    It was Elena's turn to be surprised. "Shin'ra? The Mako company?"
    "You know it's more than that," Penny scolded. "I want to make something of myself there. I want to break into a new industry. I hear that there are positions available in some departments. I'd take anything just to get in."
    "I don't want to work for Shin'ra."
    "Nobody's making you."
    "I want to be happy."
    "You've said that countless times lately. What is with you, Nell?"
    "Nothing."
    "Stop acting like a child and tell me."
    "I'm not a child! I'm almost an adult like you."
    "Alright."

    For a little while Penny never mentioned anything about moving to anyone. But one night, when it was quite starry out, the earth seemed to shatter. Penny had mentioned her plans to her father, and an argument erupted.
    "I'd like to go to work for Shin'ra, but I need to move off of the plate to start! How can I get any connections up here? It's all old money, nobody's involved in something as new age as Mako."
    "This old money got you where you are today!" their father yelled back.
    Elena sat at the edge of the stairs and listened. Sometimes her father could be so blind. She rested her head against the cold wooden spindles underneath the banister as the yelling warred on.
    "I am old enough to lead my own life, and I want to make my own decisions! It isn't right to keep me locked up in this house all the time!"
    "You're not wise enough to make your own decisions."
    "That's because you won't let me be! You don't have any more control over me, and I'm going. You always told me to persue my dreams. Well this is my dream!"
    "That is a poor argument, Penelope. I will not support such a foolish and whimsical decision. Understand that if you leave now you are disowned."
    Penny said nothing more. But with a straight face, she turned on her heel and closed the glass doors behind her.
    A look of defeat and frustration crossed the aging man's face. Elena stood to comfort her father.
    "She'll be back in a few minutes, when she realizes her mistake," he told his youngest.
    Elena doubted it, but dared not say so. "When will she come back?"
    "Tomorrow."

    The next day came and went. It melted into a breathless two days, then three, and eventually it blurred into a week. Weeks were months, as it usually is when time is a painful blur, and finally months turned into four years. Four years ago on Elena's 21st birthday, Penny had walked out on her sister and father and never was seen again.
    It was indeed a black birthday for Elena. She woke up early morning, fully aware at the time that had passed. She knew that her father was aware of it too. So she decided to leave him alone for the day.
    Around noon, when Alexander hadn't come downstairs at all, Elena decided to fix him a nice lunch and get him out of bed. She crept upstairs and opened the blinds in his room, letting thin streams of sunlight drape across the room.
    Alexander's motionless form was buried under a mass of covers on the bed. Elena eyed the figure for a moment, then lifted the covers from her father's head. The air and sound caught in her throat. He was wan and not breathing. His pulse was nonexistent. His face was set in a hard, angered expression. Death had claimed the life of a man whose riches obviously could not save him from this untimely fate.

    It was an early death of course. Elena's thoughts ran around in her mind, but could only settle on one thing.
    News quickly spread within hours of the coroner's arrival. "Friends" came to the house to shower Elena with pity. With nowhere to go, they offered to take the "poor naïve girl" in. She mentally scoffed at them. She wasn't poor and she wasn't naïve. One woman, after a trail of false remorse, asked, "Will you speak your father's eulogy?"
    Elena stopped dead. Her heart froze and her skin iced over.
    "No."

    There was only one option left- to seek out her lost sister and continue the lives they had once planned.
    With nothing but a wad of cash and an old picture, Elena determined her own future.
    The fuel dripped down the sides of the house and a trail of it made a circle around the outer walls. With a quick flick of the match, Elena set ablaze the baneful house and it's empty memories. The orange flames licked around the roof and sides, making ash of the architectural wonder.
    And into the night ran the fugitive girl, now a woman, to lead the life she knew was not there.

    Upon reaching the bottom sectors, she saw just what Penny meant. Even for early morning- around 3:00- there were many older people out. The ramshackle houses, if you could even call them that, lined the streets and alleys, as if whoever built them was desperate for a foundation. Across the roads, streetwalkers and drunks lingered under the streetlights. They cast an eerie orange glow around the area; in a sense it was beautiful to her.
    Men catcalled with slurred speech. She chose to ignore it until finally it became so intense that she couldn't take it. Her stomach turned as she quickened her pace. One man stepped in front of her and she skidded to a halt.
    "Oh, sorry," he said without looking up. Elena stood and tried to rise to his height. He was slightly taller than she was.
    "Yes, excuse me," she muttered back.
    He grabbed her arm. With an alarming cry and a flash of impulse, she slapped his left cheek.
    "Ah, sorry!" he yelped. He examined her. She shifted under his prying eyes. He shrugged. She sighed. Then he spoke. "Ever think of working at the Honeybee Inn? It's in Wall Market, Sector 6. You look like one of the girls who works there-well, used to. Later." He walked off in the opposite direction.
    Elena looked back. Such a non-base person in such a "dirty" place, as it was so often mentioned to her.
    She looked around once more. She needed to start searching somewhere. She also needed sleep and food. Which first?
    Sleep and food would have to come first. Her head spun as she dizzily stumbled down the alleyways toward the general direction of Sector 6 and Wall Market.

    Dawn was barely breaking, if you could even tell under the Midgar plate. According to a small clock in a random spot on the streets, it was 6:24, exactly the minute that the sun's rays broke across the horizon. A beautiful splash of pale blue lit the sky, but to everyone in the lower sectors, gray and black seemed to envelop everyone and everything.
    Elena's dizzying condition only worsened as she finally collapsed in a playground in where she could only hope was in or around Sector 6. Whatever cold metal underneath her was soothing and yet kept her mind alert. Nobody was around as the streets emptied of all life. Should she get up and go on, or stay and take whatever came along?
    Yet another decision she was forced into. But this one didn't have a definite answer.
    Coming out of a huge metal gate just across from the lot was a carriage with a man holding onto the back. He seemed around Elena's age, with nothing but some tattered, dirty clothes to cover his body. He jumped off beside the small metal gate that ran around the perimeter of the park and stood for a few moments- however long that might've been. Elena could barely get a good look at him, but he was relatively handsome from what she could see. His hair was dark, contrasting to the light features he otherwise possessed. His skin was pale and covered with a fine layer of dirt. But his eyes were what really captivated the sheltered girl. They were an icy, pale blue, only describable as incredibly beautiful. They reminded her of the sky during winter months, just the palest shade of blue possible, yet so full of life…
    He caught her staring as she quickly turned her gaze away. She could feel the blood rush into her cheeks. She didn't know what had come over her, but she liked it. He noticed it too, and went over to where she lay on the slide.
    "Are you lost?" he asked.
    She was taken aback by the question. She sat up straight and turned over. Then looked into those captivating eyes and completely lost hope.
    "Well, are ya?"
    "No," she said meekly.
    "Well you don't look like you belong in a wretched place like this."
    She looked down, realizing what he meant. She had only been in the area a few hours, and her clothing and makeup still portrayed her rich and sheltered lifestyle. "I suppose you're right. I don't live around here. In fact, I don't think I live anywhere."
    "Well obviously you live on the upper plate."
    "Not anymore."
    He too was taken aback. "Well why would you leave heaven just to go to hell?"
    She shook her head. "It's not heaven. I'm here looking for somebody. My sister."
    He took a few steps back and stopped leaning over her. "Who's your sister? Obviously somebody important if she lives here."
    "Her name is Penelope Burch. Have you heard of her?" There was a glimmer of hope in her voice.
    He thought a moment, then shook his head with a blank expression. "Nope, sorry. I guess she's not as infamous as I thought. So who might you be?"
    "My name's Elena." She looked at him to signify that she needed his name.
    "The name's Alexander Buyer here." He grabbed her hand and gave it a firm shake. She wobbled unexpectedly and fell over. "Pleased to meetcha."
    Alexander…her father's name…
    She shook her head and looked up as he started to walk away.
    "C'mon, then."
     "Where are we going?"
    "To my place. Figure you could use a warm meal and a nice place to sleep 'til you figure out what you're gonna do."
    She pulled herself to her feet and tripped after his form as Alexander strolled away, back through the way he had come, to Sector 7.

    Alexander's "house" wasn't much, just a two room shack with enough light to at least see where you were. The first room was a kitchen and dining room, although really it was just a small stove, icebox, and chair. The other room was tiny, just a small bedroom with a twin bed and another chair. Outside there was a bucket and water tap. Other than that, the place was bare.
    "Sorry it isn't much," he sympathized. "Definitely not what you're used to."
    "It's perfect." She loved the rugged, utilitarian unit. It gave her a sense of reality.
    "Well, as long as you're comfortable." Alexander walked over to the stove and lit it, putting a small makeshift kettle on to boil water. "Some tea and a sandwich will do you some good."
    She was puzzled as to how he came across what was a feast in the slums. "I thought people in poverty were starving," she blurted.
    He turned around, seemingly pale. "I'm not exactly poor. More like I just don't have a lot. But the little I do have suits me just fine."
    She smiled towards the ground and turned away, a little embarrassed by her naïve honesty. She just wasn't used to…this. Not the poor conditions, but the presence of a stranger, and her trusting feeling.
    He definitely noticed her expression and lifted her chin. She looked into those icy blue eyes and found herself standing completely stiff and still.
    "Tomorrow," he murmured, "We're gonna go look for a job for you. I already got one workin' for the Don. Alright?"
    She nodded and he stepped back.
    "To be honest with you, there's only one choice you have. And that's to work at the Honeybee Inn." He grimaced and looked away.
    "What's that?" she cautiously asked.
    Alexander did a bit of a doubletake. "Aw c'mon, everyone knows what the Honeybee Inn is, even the upper-plate rich guys!"
    She shook her head "no" and felt a bit foolish that she was so out of it.
    He looked away for a moment and thought, running a hand through his hair. After a moment he looked back at her and opened his mouth. "It's a bordello that caters to the high-class in Midgar. Even executives of Shin'ra go there for a break, so if you're lucky you might land a job with them. That is, if they like you."
    "Shin'ra? Really?" Elena loved the idea already.
    "Yeah," he continued. "I know a girl who worked there for about two years before landing a job as a secretary there. Her name was Crystal- a real doll, smart too. I don't hear from her much anymore, but I know she's livin' it up above us."
    "I've always dreamed of working for Shin'ra…"
    "Well then there's your place to start. Tomorrow I'll take ya down there and you can interview, alright?"
    She sighed and nodded, her eyes already star-filled. Sure, it wasn't exactly the ideal way in, but she would do anything to work for the greatest company on the planet.

    When the next morning rolled around, Alexander wasted no time preparing her for her task.
    He rolled her out of bed and started undressing her. Elena let him slip her out of her clothes and into a red lace dress that was the most form-fitting thing that she had ever worn. He even went so far as to do her hair and makeup.
    "I'm capable of doing this myself," she muttered as he poked her repeatedly with eyeliner. "Ow…"
    "Sorry!…I gotta make you look just right for your interview, or you won't stand a chance. You're a very pretty girl, Elena, so every feature has to be enhanced.
    She shut her mouth until he was finished. "Done," he muttered.
    He handed her a small mirror and she looked into it. Through the thin layer of grime she could see that the cake of particles wasn't only on the mirror.
    "I look like a whore," she muttered. An uncomfortable shift caused Alexander to poke her once more.
    He said nothing about her comment, but his eyes hardened and he kept working.
    "Are you almost done?"
    After a few more moments, he sighed and put the makeup away. "Yes, I'm done. You look appropriate."
    "Let me see." She grabbed for the mirror, but it was pulled away.
    "Don't jinx it! You look fine, now let's go."
    He roughly grabbed her hand and pulled her out along the streets.
    The looks she got were so memorable; they never faded in her mind, even when she endured the years ahead. The women scowled at her in abhorrence, some men turned their heads away, others howled drunkenly. She didn't understand the effect that took place around her until they arrived at the Honeybee Inn.
    Outside of the massive neon entrance, Elena was instructed to stand there patiently and wait until Alexander came back out.
    While waiting, a pair of equally smutty women sauntered up to her. The taller, brown-haired one gave her a once-over and smiled.
    "You must be the new girl they're interviewing today," she observed.
    Elena nodded uncertainly. The girl's eyes were so gray and cold, as if they were looking through her. She felt almost transparent.
    The tall woman smiled once more. "My name is Crystal. I'm kind of the head around here."
    Elena saw no hand offered, so she just smiled back. "I'm Elena."
    "Not for long," the girl seemed to warn before the two entered the building, leaving Elena alone once more.
    The men standing at the base of the steps kept giving her these looks of lust, licking their lips and winking at her every five seconds.
    Alexander, now beside Elena for what would be the last time, motioned for her to go in.
    She took a step forward and, realizing he wasn't following, asked, "Aren't you coming?"
    She shook his head. "I'm outta here. I've got other callings. Take care, kid."
    "Alright…bye…"
    With that, the mysterious man left as quickly as he had appeared, and Elena faced the dull ache in her heart and what was going to be her life for an indefinite period of time.
    Crystal was sitting inside with a skinny man beside her.
    "Welcome, cupcake," She greeted with a puff of cigarette smoke.
    The man stood and placed his hands on Elena's hips, thighs, and about every other curve on her body. "She's got good measurements," he commented. With a few more grunts, he sat back down and introduced himself. "The name is Wiggly. I run this little joint for the Don."
    Elena nodded uncertainly once more. "Hello."
    "No need to be so uncomfortable, darlin'," Crystal drawled. "You're family now."
    "You've now got a job here," Wiggly informed. "Startin' today. From now on you sleep here, eat here, and breathe here. And you've also got a new alias; Elena just won't do."
    Elena was so confused that she fainted.
    "Oh dear!" Crystal jumped up and knelt next to her new friend. "Are you okay?"
    "Yes. But I'm a little confused…"
    "Alright, let me explain. Your new name around here will be Heady, because Elena just doesn't suit you," Wiggly informed.
    "Why do I have to change my name?"
    "It's for business reasons," Crystal elaborated. "More customers will come here for business if the girls have provocative names."
    "What business is this again?"
    It was apparent that Crystal was becoming a little annoyed. "It's clear that you really don't understand our business. I understand, you're young, you're innocent. So how about you watch me tonight and learn, okay?"
    "Alright," Elena agreed. After all, what could be so bad about that?
    Wiggly looked her over once more. "Hey, you kind of remind me of a girl who used to work here about three years ago…Oh well." He shrugged. "I'm off. See you tomorrow, girls."
    He stumbled off through the doors. Elena, now left with her superior, felt so cheerless that she wanted the nightmare to be over. She squeezed her eyes shut.
    "Relax hon," Crystal soothed. "Come on now, we've gotta get you changed."

    The night hours were growing longer and later. It was already 10:00 before the doors to the Inn even opened.
    "Where is everyone?" Elena asked Crystal.
    "They're coming very soon."
    Elena adjusted her tight bee costume. What a cute catch.
    A young, handsome, even rich-looking man sauntered through the doors of the Inn and winked at Crystal.
    With a smile and the wink returned, she whispered to Elena, "We have a customer, follow me."
     Elena nodded and followed Crystal and the man into a lavish bedroom, one of many.
    The man followed them in, holding Crystal's hand. He gave Elena a glance every now and then, studying her. He was fairly handsome, she supposed, with a medium build. He sat on the edge of the bed with Crystal sitting in his lap and began sucking at her neck.
    She moaned with fake pleasure. "By the way, Ryan, this is our newest Honeybee, Heady."
    He smiled and waved to her. "Will she be joining in?"
    "I'm afraid not tonight," Crystal answered. "Perhaps another time. Tonight she is merely observing our pleasurable business."
    With that the pair started. Elena sat across from them in a chair, studying Crystal's every move.     Her eyes widened with every piece of clothing that was stripped off. Her heart beat a little faster with every motion of the hips. Elena couldn't tear her eyes away from the spectacle, although it was definitely something she had never seen before. After Crystal collapsed against her temporary lover, the two fell asleep, leaving Elena all alone with her head spinning and her once clean mind now tainted.
    By morning, the exhausted couple had fallen asleep in the bed, and Elena drifted off quietly in the uncomfortable chair after a long and equally laborious night.
    The man exited the Inn quietly into the cloudy morning, and Elena was sitting in the dressing room with Crystal.
    "That was…amazing," She said breathlessly.
    Crystal gave a small laugh and commented, "You don't know the half of it."
    "I've never seen anything like that before."
     "I figured as much. You're young and innocent. I've been working here for six years. When I started here I was just like you. But things changed so quickly. I rocketed up in self-confidence, and I appeared glamorous and rich."
    "And what happened?" Elena asked after hearing the story.
    "I lost the one thing that is most important in life. You will too, and you won't even realize it."
    "I don't want that to happen."
    "Get used to it, honey. You work here now."